Lewis Structure Shortcuts

[Sydney Stump]

Does anyone have an efficient method for arranging atoms in a Lewis structure? I know how to find the center atom but I don’t know which order to place atoms after that. I feel like I am guessing with some of the larger molecules and trial/error would probably take too long in an exam.

[Nicholas Le 4H]

A shortcut you can use when dealing with larger molecules, such as CH3NH2, is that you split up the molecule by the different compounds within it. In this case, you place the carbon with the three hydrogen atoms and the nitrogen with the 2 hydrogen atoms as there are two separate compounds within it: CH3 and NH2.